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We are preparing for the 123rd Hunger Games. District Thirteen has been wiped out after a second rebellion lost them their lives twenty years ago.

When Adrian Lumen was a child he wanted nothing more than to follow in his own father's footsteps and become a gamemaker. No, that wasn't necessarily true. He wanted to become an even better gamemaker than his father. His father had been one of the lucky ones who applied from district 3 and were selected to be a gamemaker. He wasn't anything super special, an assistant, as well as the occasional repair man when needed, but he was part of the games. He had found love in the Capitol and together they had only one child, and that child was Adrian.

Adrian's main goal in life was to become a gamemaker and everything else was second to him until he finally reached that goal. After graduating from college his father told him about a gamemaker who had left. He never actually told Adrian why the person had left and Adrian never asked. He just applied and was completely ecstatic when he was selected for the position. It wasn't much, but it was higher than his father and there would be the chance to advance, or so he hoped. It was after this point when he met his now ex-wife.

At first their relationship was amazing. They were so in love and Adrian was always taking her on romantic dates and buying her pretty things. Everything seemed great. Around games time things dwindled a bit, but she seemed to understand that he would be extra busy around this time with work and he made up for it when he could be home. They got married after about a year of dating and within two months she found out that she was pregnant with their first child.

When Ilian was born both were ecstatic. He was their healthy, beautiful, perfect baby boy. He was a good baby as well. The kind every parent hopes for because he quickly started sleeping through the night and he hardly ever cried. As a toddler he was a bit harder to deal with simply because he seemed to have endless energy. He was always running off, climbing on anything he could, and generally being destructive. Plants were something that could not be kept in the house because Ilian found playing in the dirt fun. Anything breakable had to be high up and away from anything he could climb on. Markers were a no go if they wanted their walls to stay clean. But still, they loved their little boy. Even if he was wild and drove them crazy.

His parents had waited until he was old enough to be placed into a preschool before they decided to try for a second child. The idea of trying to watch him and care for a newborn was a nightmare, but this way they could let other adults deal with him for the day. They also hoped that school would keep him busy and get rid of some of his energy. In a way it did work. He was more calm at home after getting the chance to run around and play with other kids. He also seemed to really enjoy socializing with others. So it was a win for both him and his parents and they didn't have to worry about him having a hard time when he started actual school.

It was around this time though that Ilian became more and more interested in the games. It was easy to do when him and his classmates would play their own version of the games during recess. It was harmless that way really. It was when he started to understand more of what was really going on during the games that things got dangerous. When he realized that he had his own weapons, much like those featured in the game, around his own house. A kitchen knife. A jump rope. Rocks from the garden outside. That was when his parents had to be more careful, especially since he was now trying to get his toddler brother in on his mock games as well.

Adrian was pleased that his son was showing such a love for the games, hoping that one day maybe he would want to be just like him the way that he had wanted to be like his own father. They could make a name for themselves as great gamemakers one day. His mother, however, was much more afraid of his obsession. She feared for herself, for Ilian, but even more so for her younger son. There were too many close calls for her liking and when she approached Adrian with her fears, wanting a solution, he had simply brushed it off as a phase. Saying Ilian was just playing and he would never actually hurt anyone. It was that night that she packed up her stuff and left with the younger boy and the unborn little girl she was unknowingly carrying. To this day, Adrian and Ilian have not met her. They have only seen pictures of her when she was born and those were thanks to a mutual friend of both his parents.

If her leaving had bothered Adrian, he was very good at not showing it. Ilian on the other hand had been incredibly upset that his mother had left him and took his brother with her. He didn't understand why she hated him so much. It had been really tough on such a young kid and still to this day his mother is an incredibly sore subject for him. He managed to carry on though and his father never really tried to push down his son's love for the games. Instead, he further encouraged him, often telling Ilian that he could have been an amazing career had he been born in one of those districts, but then pointing out how much better he had it here in the Capitol.

Ilian continued to enjoy the mock games with the other Capitol children and he only "accidentally" hurt others in the process. He at least stopped trying to use real weapons for the most part. He did enjoy all the play weapons they were able to get during the games each year though and he developed quite the collection of those over the years. When he out grew those games, he turned to fake sparring with his friends and also with his father's best friend, one of the head trainers for the pregames. Whenever he came around he gave Ilian much more real lessons and Ilian enjoyed every minute of it.

Life was good for him as a teenager. He did well in school, he had his little training lessons with the man who he would happily call his uncle, even if they weren't related by blood, and he had a lot of friends. Ilian had a way of being charming and getting people to follow him. Long term relationships weren't really his thing though. He wasn't exactly ready to commit to anyone. He was having too much fun for that. He enjoyed the Capitol parties, he enjoyed the games, and he was just enjoying life really. He was going to show his mother that he didn't need her. That she had been incredibly wrong about him and to hate him. To keep his brother and his sister from him. He was going to show everyone what he was made of.

When he turned 18 and graduated from high school he definitely did consider going to college to become a gamemaker like his father, but he was given an even better opportunity. His "uncle" and father had spoken about Ilian becoming a trainer as well. He would still be involved in games activities, but this would be a better fit because it would allow him to be physical. With his high energy and enjoyment of sparring, it seemed silly to have him sitting in the games room. So, when a trainer was ready to retire and they wanted someone young and fresh to replace him, Ilian was given the chance to apply. Even the other trainers were impressed with his skills, skills he had developed both on his own and thanks to his playful training with his "uncle", and he was given the position.

He has held this position since then and he absolutely loves it. He loves getting to meet the tributes and actually interact with them as opposed to always just watching them on the screen. It's incredibly fun meeting people of so many different backgrounds. Ilian isn't quite sure what the future holds for him. He just knows that he is loving life right now and he wants it to stay that way forever, no matter what it takes.

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